BoxRec

"Lomachenko: I'll Be No. 1 P4P Once I Beat Two Lightweight Champs"

Vasyl Lomachenko was asked if when he looks in the mirror he sees the best boxer, pound-for-pound, in the world.

“It’s very hard to answer this question because when I look in the mirror, I don’t think about who’s the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter,” Lomachenko said through a translator during a recent conference call. “I’m just shaving myself or I’m working on my hair. But I don’t think at that moment about who’s the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter.”

The reporter laughed, but pressed Lomachenko for an answer. Does the uniquely skilled Ukrainian southpaw consider himself the best boxer in the world?

“If you wanna just talk about me as a pound-for-pound fighter. I will probably say I will be the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter after I beat a couple more champions at the 135 division [lightweight].”

After facing Sosa in an HBO “World Championship Boxing” main event, Lomachenko (7-1, 5 KOs) will consider moving up to 135 pounds because his promoter, Bob Arum, has had difficulty enticing other 130-pound title-holders to face him.

Lomachenko is ranked No. 5 on pound-for-pound lists for BS.com and ESPN.com. The Ring magazine ranks Lomachenko at No. 6 on its list.

All three outlets rank unbeaten WBC super flyweight champion Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez at No. 1.

Based on pure boxing skills Lomachenko should be ranked ahead of Gonzalez.

If one of those champs is M Garcia (imagining politics wouldn't get in the way) then he'd undoubtedly be one of a very short list. Otherwise it would be Linares and maybe Flanagan which might not be enough. I mean it depends on who the other candidates fight in that time and what the results are - Ward-Kovalev II, GGG-Canelo, Gonzalez-Inoue and / or Crawford-Pacquiao at least might have happened by the time Loma has fought three times.

Certainly he is talented enough.

He should try to be a true divisional champion just once, before going for the P4P No. 1 spot.

I can't stand these weight-jumping antics.

Horse wrote:He should try to be a true divisional champion just once, before going for the P4P No. 1 spot.

I can't stand these weight-jumping antics.

Sometimes it's necessary for a number of reasons.

Probably the P4P is pretty weak at the moment.

Depends on who they are (beating Flanagan isn't the same as beating Garcia) and what other fighters have accomplished. I think he would probably at least be deserving of a very high spot if he defeated Sosa and two LW champs in his next three.

If he beats Garcia, he will have a strong case for #1.

He's already P4P number 1... Nobody in the game has his craft... He's broken new ground

Generally it takes a boxer about 20 pro fights to transfer his amateur skills to the pro game... Some guys need a lot more than that because they're almost like 2 different sports they're so different, with the relaxed rules in the pro game and the distance... Lomachenko made that transition by his 3rd fight.

With lopsided victories over Gary Russell Jr. and Nicholas Walters already to his credit he's certainly right.

There's still plenty of good fighters for him to face at 130, but I expect we'll be seeing him fight as a Lightweight no later than the end of 2018.

Not sure if I would consider him p4p #1 on paper even if he beat Barthelemy and Garcia. But having wins over them certainly wouldn't hurt.

Lackeos wrote:Not sure if I would consider him p4p #1 on paper even if he beat Barthelemy and Garcia. But having wins over them certainly wouldn't hurt.

Considering him P4P #1 on paper is the only way to ever consider him P4P #1 anyway. It's not an actual title people can fight for.

I can't understand why so many have doubts over him because he lost to Salido. He's since beaten better fighters. He beats Garcia and he's top 5 P4P.

TheGingerBomber wrote:I can't understand why so many have doubts over him because he lost to Salido. He's since beaten better fighters. He beats Garcia and he's top 5 P4P.

He is already top 5 for me.

boxing_rocks wrote:If he beats Garcia, he will have a strong case for #1.

Yes !